Gautam Gambhir leaves for England to rejoin Team India ahead of 1st Test

Just days after rushing home to New Delhi due to a family emergency, Gautam Gambhir has reportedly flown back to England, where India will kickstart their World Test Championship campaign on June 20 with a five-Test series. The 42-year-old had to leave the team camp in Beckenham after his mother, Seema, suffered a cardiac arrest on June 11.
While she remained under observation in the ICU on June 16, doctors have reportedly declared her out of danger. With her condition stabilising, Gambhir decided to return to England on Tuesday (June 17) to rejoin the Indian squad, who are currently preparing for the opening Test at Headingley. According to Cricbuzz, Gambhir left for London on Tuesday.
The series marks a new chapter in Indian Test cricket, with Shubman Gill leading a side that is missing some of the most iconic names in the country's red-ball history. The retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, alongside the absence of pace spearhead Mohammed Shami due to injury, have triggered a generational shift. In such a moment of transition, Gambhir's presence in the dressing room remains invaluable.
Though he missed India's only tour game, a three-day intra-squad fixture in Beckenham overseen by assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, and bowling coach Morne Morkel, Gambhir's presence in the dressing room ahead of the series opener will be vital. The former India opener has been at the helm of the transition in the red-ball format.
The first Test of the newly instituted Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy begins June 20 at Headingley, followed by matches at Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford, and The Oval. India will aim to end an 18-year wait for a Test series win in England; Rahul Dravid, the Indian head coach before Gambhir, was the captain of the last side to win a red-ball series on English soil. In India's previous tour to England, a Virat Kohli-led team took a 2-1 lead after four matches in the series before the tour was cut short due to Covid-19 outbreak.
The postponed match was eventually played a year later, where Ben Stokes-led English team defeated Team India, then led by Jasprit Bumrah, to equal the scoreline.

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